English dictionary, thesaurus, translations & etymology

Etymology — The Origins of English Words

Where do words come from? Trace the origin and history of any English word, from its Latin, Greek or Old English roots through to its modern meaning. Every etymology is sourced.

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An initialism of "let me know".

An initialism of an informal phrase meaning "laughing extremely hard"; the middle letters stand for a mildly crude word.

From Latin littera, meaning "letter", via Late Latin litteralis "of letters" — that is, keeping to the letter of the text.

An initialism of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (or questioning), intersex, and asexual (or aromantic).

An initialism; the first sense expands to an emphatic form of "let's go", the gaming sense to "looking for group".

From Latin levis, meaning "light" (in weight), with the verb formed on the pattern of gravitate.

An initialism of "long-distance relationship".

From Latin latere, "to lie hidden", by way of latent.

From French laissez faire, "let (them) do" — from a longer phrase urging governments to leave commerce alone.

From lackadaisy, a playful alteration of the old exclamation of regret alack the day, plus the ending -ical.

From Greek kinein, "to move", and aisthesis, "sensation" — literally the sense of movement.

From the surname of the writer Franz Kafka, whose fiction depicts individuals trapped by opaque authority, plus the adjective ending -esque.

From Latin juxta, "beside", combined with position; the term entered English via French juxtaposition.

In the slang sense, US regional (Florida and the South), of uncertain origin. In the technical senses, an initialism of 'just in time'.

A compound of jet, the aircraft, and lag, meaning a delay — the body's clock lagging behind local time after fast air travel.

An initialism of "I swear to God", popularised through texting and social media.

An initialism of "in real life", from early internet chat and forum use.

From Latin intricare, "to entangle", from tricae, meaning trifles or perplexities.

From Medieval Latin intonare, "to sing or chant", built on Latin tonus, "tone".

From Latin interpretari, "to explain or translate", from interpres, meaning an agent or go-between.

From Old French enterrer, from Latin in- ("in") plus terra ("earth") — literally, putting into the earth.

From Latin integrare, "to make whole or complete", from integer, "whole".

From Latin integer, meaning "whole, intact, untouched", from in- ("not") plus a root related to tangere ("to touch"). The same word gives English integrity.

A compound of in and seam, from the seam on the inner side of a trouser leg.